


Beyond Destiny

by gaymergirl



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Language, Post canon, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-04-29 08:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5121023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaymergirl/pseuds/gaymergirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Max and Chloe were kids, Seattle was their dream place. Now they get the chance to go there together.</p><p>(Alternatively: What are you supposed to say to the girl who chose you over the world?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Give Me Something to Believe

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for Polarized.

The sun is out, shining, and there is life; birds are flying and the deer aren’t as shy. But more importantly, to Chloe, is Max’s beating heart, next to her own. Somehow, through Max’s power, the universe has allowed them to be together. With all the damage around them, it’s almost as if they’re the only people in the world. They are in the world they used to know, anyway.

Max is quiet, and that’s okay, Chloe gets it. She doesn’t know the right words to say either.

Chloe is frozen at the wheel, unable to move forward, weighed down by guilt. Because maybe she was meant to die, but maybe that doesn’t fucking matter anymore, because the universe gave Max the chance to change fate and she did.

Max is looking out the window, amidst the broken buildings and dead bodies and smashed cars. Chloe can’t forget how broken and small Max’s voice sounded when she told her the truth about the alternate realities, and what Jefferson did to her. She heard the pain in her voice when she realized that the storm was her entity, as if it were her own body that the tornado was tearing apart.

And it feels like Max is a thousand miles away, suddenly the silence is unsettling.

Hesitant, Chloe reaches out, running her fingers slowly over Max’s arm. To reassure herself that Max isn’t stuck in time. To let Max know that because of her, she is living, breathing, still here.

It agonizes Chloe to see her in so much pain. She deserves so much better.

She’s _Max_ , the girl who still says “are you cereal?” when she’s upset. The girl who has always tried to do the right thing, even when they were little. The girl who used to play dress up with her. The girl who chose to kiss her two days ago and not rewind.

The girl who chose her over the world.

Max turns to look at her, her blue eyes hollow, their usual brightness gone. Chloe is afraid that Max’s eyes will never light up again, that her tender smile is lost. Forever. Like her dad and her mom and Rachel and Arcadia Bay.

She gives Chloe a faint smile, but she’s cautious, like she’s afraid to look directly at her. Chloe slowly moves her hand away, wanting to give Max as much space as she can. She needs it, after everything she’s been through.

Max hasn’t even finished high school, Chloe realizes. And her parents- Max hasn’t looked at her phone once since the storm ended, Chloe suspected it died but…

 _Ryan and Vanessa have to be worried sick_ , she thinks. The same way she was worried about Rachel for those terrible six months, and that was a torture she wouldn’t wish on anyone.

Chloe tries not to think about her mom, or even David. But Max still has a family, a family who loves her, and Chloe is not going to keep her away from them. Seattle was their dream destination when they were kids anyway. L.A. was always Rachel’s.

Besides, why _wouldn’t_ Chloe want to live in a state where she can legally smoke weed and marry a girl?

“I’m going to take you home, Max.” Chloe says, decisive. “I’m sure your parents must have really missed me these last five years.”

Max laughs, it’s rough and a little harsh sounding, but it’s still a laugh.

“They are not going to believe that you have tattoos and blue hair.”

“I can’t wait to surprise them.” Chloe says, stepping on the gas, anxious to get out of what has become a literal ghost town.

L.A. will still be there after Max graduates, she reasons. Not to mention the drive to Big Sur would make a fucking fantastic graduation present.

And as long as they’re together, Chloe doesn’t really mind where they are.

They take the slow, scenic route to Seattle. In silence, because Max still isn’t talking, and the vehement radio static is just another reminder of everything that’s been lost. 

She wasn’t hopeful when she told Max to go back and let her die. In fact, she was fucking ready for it to be over- she couldn’t stand the way Max was trembling. Looking at her in the rain, so close to her. A love, she realized, as they have alluded to before, that must be destined.

Only to be doomed.

When the time came, Max didn’t even hesitate. She stared up at her, her doe-eyes wide and filled with longing, making a promise, as she tore her butterfly photo in two, letting the wind take it.

Chloe didn’t know it was possible to feel so relieved and utterly broken at the same time, not until Max was in her arms, their tears mixing in with the rain crashing down on them.

Five days ago Max Caulfield wasn’t in her life, and part of Chloe resented her for that. Five days ago all she cared about was finding Rachel and getting out of her crummy hometown. But now…

Chloe looks at Max, the ghost of a god: empty and broken, and still so _real_.

But mostly, Max looks tired. There are prominent dark circles under her eyes, and her breathing is slow, ragged. And that’s when it finally hits her: these past five days have been a lifetime for Max, moments that no one else will remember. It’s more than physical exhaustion, it’s more than Chloe will ever be able to understand.

Chloe wonders why terrible things always happen to the people she loves.

An hour into the drive, an hour of silence and glances and heavy air, Max asks if they can pull over. And Chloe does so without asking, anticipating the worst. Expecting Max to say that she regrets all of it, that this was a mistake.

Chloe parks on the shoulder of the road, and she walks over to the passenger side anxiously. As soon as Max’s feet make contact with the ground, Max wraps her arms around her, and Chloe leans into her instinctively.

Max starts pulling her in closer, as if she’s trying to stop time and space from keeping them apart again. They stand there, on the side of the road, breathing in the scent of pine needles and each other. She can feel Max’s chest move with every breath.

This is the only thing that feels right.

“I couldn’t let you die again,” Max whispers, her whole body shaking. “Not like that. We wouldn’t have seen each other again and-” Max is sobbing, heaving. “You wouldn’t have known how much I love you or what happened to Rachel and-”

Chloe grabs her hand and puts it on her chest, between them. Max holds in her breath long enough to pause her sobs.

“I’m still here, Max. You _saved_ me.”

Ten heartbeats pass, and Max still doesn’t say anything. Chloe moves their hands and intertwines their fingers.

“You don’t think I’m a horrible person?”

“No Max, I don’t. I meant what I said before, you’re the kindest, bravest person I’ve ever met.”

“Even though I let all those people die? Both your parents…and I couldn’t save Rachel.”

Chloe’s stomach churns violently at that. Max didn’t even _know_ Rachel. How could she possibly have saved her?

“Max, I want you to listen to me. You didn’t ask for these powers. You were just some geek girl in a small town, remember? And the universe decided to put you through hell. It’s total bullshit, but you’re still here, with me. And-”

There’s a weird sense of déjà vu, and Chloe remembers that they’ve had this conversation before, only it was Max trying to make her feel better. Chloe had been too stubborn and hurt to let her in.

“I would have done the same thing, Max.” The tears start pouring, and she doesn’t try to stop them. “I would have done the exact same thing,” she repeats, ignoring the unsteadiness in her voice. “I’d choose you over Arcadia. Every time.”

Max half-laughs, half-sobs at that.

“Yeah,” she says, with that small, sad, teary-eyed smile. “I know.”

There is a small part of Chloe that wants to kiss her, to taste her, to let her in and not back away this time. In retrospect, the dare was a bad idea- she should have just gone for it. But she knows now isn’t the right time. Not after finding Rachel’s body in the ground. Not after losing everybody. Chloe doesn’t think it’s possible to ever recover from this.

She runs her right hand gently across Max’s back, and kisses the top of her head, letting her lips linger.

“We’ve gotta be strong, okay?” Chloe breathes, trying to be brave, for Max.

“Like when we were pirates?” Max asks.

“Yeah, exactly.”                               

Max smiles at her, a real, warm smile that tells Chloe it is her destiny to live. To be here right now, with their new beginning. Together.

Chloe feels reborn- no, she’s felt this way before, back when the two of them used to run along the shoreline, getting water and sand everywhere. When the world was endless, and the idea of the two of them ever being apart was unfathomable.  

“It’s you and me, Max. The world is _ours_.”

“I’m really starting to believe that.” Max says with a wistful smile. With her free hand, she reaches up to brush aside Chloe’s bangs, and slowly traces her fingers down Chloe’s cheek.

Chloe doesn’t need to hear Max speak to know she’s thinking, _I’m so glad you’re here_.   

Because that’s what Chloe’s thinking too.

…

They find a tiny, worn down looking motel on the outskirts of Portland. It’s cheap, musty, and freezing, but Chloe is too tired to even consider looking for anything better. And the sun is setting, Chloe would rather pass on driving around this unknown mountainous terrain at night. Washington can wait for tomorrow.

The first thing Max does is plug in her phone. Once it finally turns on, it buzzes. And buzzes.

“Oh thank God. Chloe- Chloe your mom called.”

Max shoves her phone into Chloe’s hands.

And Chloe starts crying again. She sits on the edge of the bed, calling Joyce and ignoring the other notifications on Max’s phone. Max is sitting next to her, and rubs her back.

Joyce picks up after the first ring.

“Mom?” her voice breaks. “Mom, thank God, I’m so sorry for everything, I, I love you so much.”

“I love you too, honey. Oh Chloe, I am just so glad that you’re safe. Is Max with you? Where are you?”

“Yeah, she’s with me. We’re just outside Portland. We had to get out of there, Mom. It was so scary.”

“I know, baby. I know. I was worried sick during that storm.” Joyce pauses, sighing in relief.

Chloe has never been so grateful to talk to her mom.

Mostly everyone is okay. Joyce, Frank (and Pompidou), Warren, everyone who was at the diner. And Max was there too, apparently, in another time. Max tells her after she ends the call with Joyce.

“It was terrible, Chloe. Car parts were flying around and everyone was so scared. I wasn’t even sure I’d make it to the diner- and it exploded, before I could rewind.” Max is quiet. She tentatively reaches out for her hand. Chloe takes it, and squeezes it softly.

“And then, your mom asked if you were safe. And I had to lie- how could I tell her that you were dead in the junkyard? All alone.”

Chloe didn’t know that she was killed in the junkyard, not till the words slip out. She doesn’t press Max about it, and she really does not want to think about everything else that happened in that timeline.

“Is that when you found me again? Outside the vortex club party?”

Max nods.

Max’s phone goes off again and it’s David. He was safe, in the bunker. Max rubs Chloe’s hand with her thumb as they talk, refusing to let go.

And then Kate calls, she wasn’t even in Arcadia Bay when the storm hit. Her parents took her from the hospital that morning. Max cries in relief.

Vanessa calls for the eighth time, and this is the first time Max has been able to answer. And Max isn’t crying anymore, because things are starting to go okay.

“Yeah, I’m with Chloe.” Max laughs into the phone, looking at Chloe playfully. “Yes of course, Chloe Price. She’s driving us to Seattle- I don’t know, probably sometime tomorrow. I know, I love you too, Mom.”

Max’s breathing is steady, and she sleeps with her head on Chloe’s lap.

Chloe calls her mom again, talking quietly, but she’s convinced Max could sleep for a week.

“Mom, I’m going to be staying in Seattle, with Max.”

Joyce isn’t too thrilled to hear that, but she understands.

“Just promise me you’ll keep me updated, I would like to see you soon, it’s not enough to just hear your voice.”

“I know Mom, I’ll keep you posted. Promise.”

Chloe looks down at Max, in deep, restful slumber. She plays with her hair, relieved to see how peaceful she looks, for once. Content. Chloe cradles her head, and gently slides out from under her. Max stirs, but doesn’t wake. Chloe gingerly takes off her shoes, and manages to tuck her into bed without waking her.

It’s a little weird to be awake with Max sacked out. Chloe was always the one who fell asleep first during sleepovers, especially if they were watching a movie. She considers going out for a smoke, but she doesn’t like the idea of leaving Max in here alone. So she crawls into bed next to her, watching her chest rise and fall evenly.

She wakes up ten hours later facing a different direction- the first thing she sees is the wall, and the first thing she feels is Max’s chest against her back, her left arm wrapped around her. Her warm breathing on her neck.

Max doesn’t say a word about it when she wakes up, but she smiles at her softly, as if this was all she wanted in the world. And it might have been.

Chloe smiles back at her.

They don’t talk until they stop at a gas station, for gas, breakfast, and everything else they might need. Like _two_ toothbrushes, even though Max insists she doesn’t mind sharing for now. (“Chloe, I’ve used yours at your house a million times.” “Max, no, that’s sick.”) Chloe nearly buys a pack of cigarettes, until Max gives her a big speech about how she did not fuck up time and space just for her to get lung cancer in the future, and Chloe gives in. For now.

Max has been staring at the cereal selection for approximately five minutes, and Chloe comes up behind her, softly touching her waist.

“C’mon Max, you can pick more than one brand if you want to.”

“Oh, right, I forgot that’s why we’re here.”

“Max,” Chloe begins, having absolutely no clue what to say. All she knows is that this week has been hell, and that Max has lived through it over and over.

She nearly says something to comfort her, but she overhears some greasy, middle age trucker say something involving “dykes” and she freezes, caught wondering, _did he actually just say that?_

Chloe looks at Max, to see if she heard him too and-

Max is crouching slightly, shaking, with her left arm raised over her head. Her left hand is twitching and it takes Chloe a few seconds to realize that Max is trying to rewind. And she can’t.

“Max?” Chloe’s voice is quiet and strained, she’s never seen Max like this before. This scares her more than everything else she’s seen this week.

Chloe shoots the trucker a glare, along with a “What the _fuck_ did you just say?” He’s a few inches taller than her but she can take him if she has to. He eyes them both and grunts, shuffling his way over to the next aisle, muttering something about God.

Max is frozen, and it breaks Chloe’s heart to see Max this frightened. She threads their fingers together.

“He’s going to leave us alone, okay? Do you want to wait in the car?”

Max shakes her head, staring at the ground.

Chloe gives her hand a long, gentle squeeze before letting go. She picks up a box of Froot Loops for no reason other than the fact that they have a rainbow color scheme and hurriedly pays the man at the register. He doesn’t say anything about the trucker, but he fumbles with the change he gives back to her and Chloe just knows he’s too uncomfortable to mention it.

Figures.

The trucker is staring at them when they leave the place and all Chloe wants is to get the fuck out of there. She’s never driven out of a parking lot so fast in her life.

Chloe can’t believe he had the audacity to do that, but her main concern is Max’s silence. She is still, unmoving, making herself small. Max has always been the quiet one out of the two, but it’s not the same anymore.

She glances at the rearview mirror, just in case the trucker’s following them. It feels like something David would do.

“Are you okay?”

Max doesn’t answer, and Chloe only now hears the radio playing, some bullshit top forties hit that she knows Max hates too. Chloe shuts it off.

And shit, Chloe has never been in a situation like this before. Her eyes are narrowed as she angrily focuses on driving back to the highway. She’s about to make an attempt of reassuring Max when she hears the flash of the camera. She gapes at Max, astounded, before returning her attention to the road.

“Sorry,” Max says, not sounding sorry at all.

And Chloe starts laughing, because she still lives in a world where Max takes pictures at the wrong time, and that means that Max is still Max, and that she’s going to be okay. The universe could do that much for her at least.

“You’re unbelievable.” Chloe jokes, unable to suppress her smile.

“You’re beautiful.” Max speaks in all seriousness, looking at the photograph.

“Well damn, Caulfield.” Chloe says, hoping her voice isn’t wavering that noticeably. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Max laughs, and it’s softer than yesterday’s, a sweet sound. Chloe takes a glimpse at her to see that Max isn’t looking at the picture anymore, she’s looking at her, with a smile that could probably freeze time.

Shyly, Max returns her attention to the picture, and Chloe briefly wonders if in another timeline, she told her how she feels.

…

They get their Portland trip after all, minus the beer, weed, and tattoos. The line for Voodoo Donuts is wrapped around the street, but Chloe is determined to have her Maple Blazer Blunt. And Max has a fun time taking pictures, getting several shots of the shimmery, glittery brick covered building.

Chloe watches Max, unaware of how much she’s been smiling till Max takes _another_ picture of her and shows it to her proudly.

“This is a good one.”

“Yeah it is.” Chloe agrees, looking at the picture and then glancing back at the girl next to her. “But not as good as this one.”

Chloe snatches the camera from Max and takes a picture of her, capturing the moment where Max’s eyes light up- right before she starts laughing.

“How dare you.” she teases. “We need one of us together- you take it.”

Chloe takes this moment to wrap her left arm around Max’s shoulder, standing right next to each other.

“My pleasure.” she says, and as she takes the shot, she understands why Max is so into photography.

“Man look at us,” Chloe says, leaning in closer to look at the picture that Max is holding delicately. “We are total babes.”

“If grunge is the look,” Max says, wrinkling her nose. “The first thing I’m gonna do when we get to my house is shower.”

“Are you trying to say something?” Chloe asks, making a point to smell her shirt.

“Maybe,” Max replies, playful.

Chloe laughs.

The donuts were not exactly worth the hour and a half long wait, but Chloe is not one to complain about spending more time with Max. Especially when Max reaches over with a napkin to wipe off the powdered sugar on her face.

“Thanks.” Chloe says, staring at Max’s lips for three seconds too long. “So,” she quips, maybe too loudly. “Do you wanna hit Powell’s? I still have that extra cash, I’ll treat you to all the books and comics you want.”

Max crumples her napkin, and Chloe eyes Max’s second donut (the Gay Bar), still untouched.

“I think we should keep going.”

Max tells her everything once they’re back in the truck and outside the city.About her nightmares, her fears. About their other lives, brief snapshots in time, together. Like how in one alternate reality, Chloe hated the world hella (which she has a hard time believing but hey, she trusts Max).

In another life Chloe never even met Rachel. In another, she’s spared from finding Rachel’s rotting body because David and his team find her. In another life, her dad was still with her.

And in this life? Rachel was in love with a serial killer and losing her felt worse than dying. William died in a car crash on his way to pick up Joyce.

And Max?

Max blames it all on herself.

“I didn’t actually get to see you in that reality, another Max did.” Max explains, distracting Chloe from her thoughts. “I was able to read our texts, though. You were really supportive of me, for winning the Everyday Heroes contest and everything.”

“Well, yeah.” Is all Chloe can muster. She doesn’t like thinking about all the distorted timelines Max has lived through, just to watch them all shatter and break her heart. It’s not fair that Max has to suffer for saving her. Chloe gets anxious thinking of all the other Maxes out there, alone.

She glances over at her Max, who is with her right now, staring out at the mountains.

“This feels like a dream.” Max admits longingly, focused on looking out the window. “A good dream, but it’s sad.”

Chloe is starting to feel like this whole week has been a dream. What is she even supposed to say to Max, now? The girl who decided she was worth all this?

She has to say _something_ , something to let Max know that Max is still so _good_. That’s she’s sorry. That she really meant she’d choose her over Arcadia Bay, how she would do anything to switch their places. _Anything._

She turns the radio on, and Max doesn’t seem to mind- or notice. It’s a Fleetwood Mac song, and Chloe decides that it isn’t _that_ bad for, well, more mainstream music. The music is a nice change from the silence.

“We’re going to be okay, Max.” Her voice is higher than usual and she tries to clear her throat, in a vain attempt to sound more convincing. “We might only be okay, for a while. It takes time to heal, you know? But we have each other, and-”

“Chloe?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t regret it. I promise. I’d do it all again if I had to, just to be here with you.” Max takes Chloe’s right hand and places her hand in hers.

Her hand is warm. In the good way, the best way. Max Caulfield has always been soft and gentle, and Chloe is so grateful that the world hasn’t turned her cold. That it hasn’t taken her light away.

Max has overcome every obstacle, and she’s so much stronger now.

Chloe can breathe easily, there is a huge weight lifted off her chest. They’re going to make it.

“You really are my hero, Super Max.” She laughs high-pitched and free, unable to contain it if she wanted to.

“Well, you’re mine too.” Max giggles. “Super Chloe. My partner in crime and time.”

Chloe grins, and grins harder when she’s sees Max’s infamous goofy, adorable smile. The one she used to see during birthdays, and that one New Year’s they secretly stayed up for when their parents said they were too little to stay up till midnight.

“I do like the sound of that,” Chloe admits, forcing herself to look at the road and not the amazing girl next to her who is still holding her hand, palm to palm.


	2. Hold on Hope

For some reason, when Chloe envisions Max’s house, she imagines her old wood paneled, pale blue house but on a new street. So when Max tells her to park outside a creamy yellow house, hidden behind shrubbery, she has a hard time believing this is where Max has been living since she left.

“This is nice, Max,” she says, taking the key out of the ignition but not bothering to step out of the car yet.

“I know,” Max replies, rigid, making no indication of leaving the car yet. “I’m scared to walk in there,” she admits. “Everything’s so different now, I’m not the same person I was the last time I was here.” Max stares at her, eyes wide, lips trembling ever so slightly. “How would my parents even react if they knew what I did?”

“Okay, no.” Chloe cuts in. She is not going to let Max beat herself up over this. Not again. “First off, you’re still Max Caulfield, just Max with PTSD, or some new disorder we don’t know anything about yet, because time travel and its effects are still on the down low. And second,” she pauses, to take a deep breath and get her thoughts together. “I’m literally the only other person, besides you, who knows what happened, and I still love you.”

Max cracks a smile at that.

Chloe’s heart hammers steadily against her ribcage.

“You’re right,” Max says, unbuckling her seatbelt. “I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Chloe follows Max to the door, a little anxious to see Max’s parents again. Max was always over at the Price home than Chloe was at the Caulfield’s. Ryan and Vanessa were a little stricter, and thought Chloe was too loud and daring, something they weren’t exactly wrong about.

Max rings the doorbell, because her house key, like many items (including Chloe’s phone, her weed, her snow doe), didn’t make it back with them.

Vanessa Caulfield is there to open the door instantly, coddling Max with tears in her eyes. They’re tears of relief, Chloe knows, as she stands back to give Vanessa time with her daughter. She eventually pulls away a little, putting her hands on Max’s cheeks, saying that Max isn’t allowed to leave Washington again until she graduates high school. Max laughs slightly at that, telling her that she isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

She’s a good seven inches shorter than Chloe, but seeing her for the first time in five years makes her feel like a gawky preteen again. She’s aged, Chloe realizes, staring at her sharper facial features, but she’s still as motherly as she remembered.

“And look at you, all grown up,” Vanessa says fondly, looking past Chloe’s aqua hair and inked arm, embracing her. “Thank you for bringing Max back to us, Chloe.”

“Anytime, Vanessa.” Chloe smiles, and she means it.

“There are some peanut butter cookies in the oven,” she practically coos, guiding them past the doorway and into the house. “You can help yourself to as many as you’d like once they’re done.”

“Thanks, Vanessa.” Chloe says, inhaling the smell of the traditional-made-from-scratch Caulfield cookies. It’s a fucking nostalgia trip, and Chloe suspects this is how Max felt when she was at her house earlier this week.

After hugging Max for the second time, stroking her hair, Vanessa explains that Ryan is out getting food to make Max’s favorite dinner.

“Can I help you girls carry anything in?” Vanessa asks, before noticing the lack of personal items they have with them: there’s only Max’s bag, and the plastic bag with their stuff from the gas station.

“We’ve got it, Mom.” Max says, assuredly.

“Why don’t you show Chloe to the guest bedroom so she can get settled in?” Vanessa suggests, polite as ever.

“Actually, Chloe’ll be staying with me.” Max clarifies, wearing a secretive smile that only Chloe is familiar with.  

“Oh, well, that works too. Your father will be back soon.”

Max hugs her again and kisses her cheek, before grabbing Chloe’s hand and guiding her upstairs.

The interior of the house looks pretty different from Max’s old house too. It’s bigger, for one thing. The upstairs consists of two bedrooms (one for Max and one for guests), a bathroom, two closets, and a living space with the couch that used to be in Max’s old living room, as well as the old, clunky TV. Even from fifteen feet away, Chloe can spot the faded, Winnie the Pooh stickers on the edges.

“Nice place you got, Caulfield.” Chloe says, admiring the homeliness, as if she’s been here before.

“Shut up,” Max says, leading her to her bedroom.

“Wow.” Chloe whistles as she’s greeted with borderline-atrocious fuchsia walls, meticulously arranged polaroids, and a surprising amount of stuffed animals. It’s not Max at all, but at the same time, it’s _so_ Max. Well, the Max she knew when she was fourteen.

“Ugh, sorry,” Max groans. “I forgot how embarrassing this room is.”

“Are you kidding? It’s so cute.” Chloe laughs, and releases Max’s hand as she picks up a framed picture of them from Max’s tenth birthday on her dresser. She has- well, did have, the same picture in her room, only it wasn’t out on display like this. She’s going to mention it but Max is sitting on her bed, avoidant.

“Hey, you okay?” It’s a stupid question she realizes, gently placing the frame where she found it, and standing awkwardly in front of the dresser.

“It’s… weird having you here. Not in a bad way, it’s just hard to believe that this is real, that I’m not dreaming.” Max admits, adamantly looking at the floor.

“Do you want some space?” Chloe asks, unsure of what she can do for the girl.

“No, I definitely don’t want to be alone right now.” Max looks up at her, eyes softening right away.

“Okay good.” Chloe offers her a smile. She sits next to Max on the edge of the bed, and then lies on her back. Max mimics her movement.

They lie there, wordlessly, listening to each other breathe. There’s no pressure to talk, just being in each other’s company is enough. That’s one of the things she’s always loved about Max, the quiet way she can be with someone. Chloe’s eyes wander around Max’s room, plastered with hockey posters and a Game of Thrones calendar.  

“You wouldn’t ever kiss Victoria would you?”

It’s so out of the blue that Chloe sucks in air too fast and measly coughs out, “That prissy bitch from Blackwell?”

“Yeah.”

Chloe’s initial reaction is to snort, or sarcastically say yes, but Max’s voice is tense, serious about her question.

“No way, dude. She is _so_ not my type.” Her heart thumps five times, ten times, before Max replies with a shaky laugh.

“Good, now I know my nightmare was full of it.”

Chloe frowns.

“Did you have another one last night?”

“No, it was part of the one I told you about.”

Chloe stares at the ceiling.

“It was more than just all those gross guys chasing you?”

“Yep.”

“And I was there? Uh, with Victoria?”

“That would be correct.” Max huffs, voice thick. “And Warren and Nathan too, but I wasn’t as concerned about that. I mean, you made it pretty obvious about how you feel about boys.”

Chloe’s chest tightens, compact.

“Max-”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she dismisses, in that curt tone of hers, to let her know she means it.

Chloe leans on her left side to look at Max. There’s a lot more to the nightmare than Max is letting on, it’s obvious by the way she is shutting down. As if Max didn’t already have enough to deal with.

“You don’t have to tell me everything, Max. Not now, not until you’re ready.”

Max rolls over on her right to face her, their noses centimeters apart.

“Thanks, Chloe.” Max beams at her, seemingly unaware of how close they are, of how easy it would be to lean in and kiss. Chloe nearly moves forward, in spite of everything, but she hears a loud, deep, “There’s my girl!” Chloe sits up instantly and Max jumps straight off the bed.

Ryan Caulfield laughs.

“Didn’t mean to startle you, am I interrupting something?”

“Nothing, just some girl talk.” Max answers, shy, before getting a clumsy bear hug from her father.

Ryan is a bit burlier than Chloe remembered, wearing a scruffy beard and a hockey shirt with holes in it. Chloe looks to the side, wanting to them reunite somewhat privately.

“Hey there, Ryan.” Chloe says, with a wave, after Max is sits next to her.

“Well, if it isn’t Chloe Price!” He smiles, with gratitude, happy that Max is back. “It looks like you were made for Seattle. I think you’ll like it here.”

“So I’ve been told,” she replies with raised eyebrows and a small smile.“I’m glad to be here.”

Thankfully Vanessa hollers at them from downstairs, letting them know the cookies are ready, sparing Chloe from more small talk.

…

Max remains distant, looking out windows, or staring at walls, with glazed eyes that look like they can see beyond. Beyond what, Chloe isn’t sure. Her rewind power is gone now, Max swore on that, but it doesn’t mean Max is always _with_ her.

“You’re still my hero.” Chloe has told her, almost daily. But Max doesn’t seem to believe it. She’ll smile faintly and change the subject. Or pull out her camera. Or write in her diary. Sometimes Chloe is tempted to read it, just to try to understand her…best friend? Girlfriend?

“It’s complicated,” she tells Joyce over her new phone. It’s eleven in the morning, a Tuesday, and Max is still sacked out. Ryan and Vanessa are at work, which means it’s just Chloe and Max in the house. Not that it makes that much of a difference, the entire upstairs is basically their lair anyway. “I don’t really know what we are.”

Joyce doesn’t press her.

“You two are both so young,” Joyce sighs, and Chloe can see the way her head must be shaking right now, lips pursed. “Too young to have gone through all this.”

Chloe bites her lip, eyeing the walls in the upstairs living room.

“You know,” Joyce begins. “After your father died I didn’t think I could ever love again, but then-”

“I’ve heard this before, Mom. You met David and you realized you were wrong.” Chloe says shortly.

“Honey, what I’m saying is, after what happened to Rachel-”

“It’s different Mom, everything’s so fucked up.”

“I know it is Chloe, and I am so, so sorry,” she pauses. “Let’s look at the bright side of things, like William would do.”

The idea of her dad helping makes her feel better, calmer, and she starts to smile.

“Yeah, I can do that.” She laughs a little, out of relief more than anything. “Dad was always good at focusing on the positive.”

“He was,” Joyce agrees. Chloe can hear the smile in her voice. “I have no doubt that he’d be happy for you and Max.”

“You think so?” It was never something Chloe had thought about.

“Oh I know so honey, he adored Max. And he cared about your happiness more than anything, he was always afraid some boy would break your heart,” Joyce chuckles. “Little did he know you’d be the one breaking theirs.”

“Oops,” says Chloe, with a giggle, amazed at how easy it is to talk to Joyce about this stuff. It only took a disaster tornado to bring them this close.

By the time they finish talking, Max is awake, walking into the room with sleepy eyes, and that all too familiar, distant look.

“Morning, Max, you okay?” she asks, out of habit, because of course she isn’t okay. Not really.

Max blinks and stares at Chloe. She looks confused, like something is off.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says. She walks over and bends down a little, to hug Chloe delicately, as if she’s afraid she’ll break. “I’m fine.” She repeats.

Chloe knows she’s lying, probably for her sake.

Max lets go and sits next to her on the couch.

“We were at American Rust right now, a week ago. Before-” Max stops, glancing at Chloe. “Before shit got real.”

That morning started out so hopeful, Chloe remembers. She was so elated to show the place to Max, back when it was still a good place for adventure, for fun. Rusting and green and alive, the ruins of the city being taken over by nature, a place where Chloe felt like she belonged.

Before Frank came, and the train, and Rachel, two days later.

“Some good shit too though, right?” Chloe asks, keeping William’s optimism in mind. “The pool was fun.”

Something about Max changes, it’s subtle, but it’s there.

“I forgot that was the same day. Sneaking into the pool was amazing, Chloe.” Max smiles, eyes shining. “It was so relaxing, but exhilarating at the same time. It made me feel like-”

“Magic?” Chloe cuts in, face flushing once she realizes how mushy she must sound.

“Exactly,” Max agrees, unaware of her embarrassment. “Like I was meant to be there. Something…changed there.”

She stops, averting eye contact.

 _Something between us changed that night_ , is what Chloe thinks she means.

Because she felt it too, the light burst of energy coursing through her veins, the playful flirting, and the laughing. The bounce in Max’s step, the way her eyes glittered when she looked at her. The uncontainable thrill when driving away from Blackwell together, chlorine soaked and freezing to the bone; it was the happiest Chloe felt since Max entered her life again.

By letting her live, it became a memory Chloe will always keep.

Content, and strangely cozy, she lies back on the couch, pulling her arms behind her head, sprawling her legs on top of Max.

“What are you going to do when I’m in school next week?” Max asks.

“Are you sure you’re ready to start school again?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Max sighs. “It’ll be weird finishing my senior year at anywhere other than Blackwell. But I did get most of my high school experience done in Seattle. I know the people.”

“You’ve never mentioned your friends here.” Chloe points out, not in a jealous way.

“I was never that close with anyone at school. Not like you and Rachel.”

“I’ll probably get my GED,” Chloe blurts, anxious to avoid the topic of Rachel, for now. “If you’re in school, maybe I should be taking classes too.”

“That’ll be great, Chloe. You’ve totally got this.”

“Thanks, Max,” Chloe says, a little wary of Max’s certainty.

…

Warren and Kate both take a bus to Seattle to meet with Max on Saturday afternoon. Max and Chloe have been at Max’s house for a week now. Chloe, initially, does not want to go because for one thing, they’re Max’s friends; and for another: she’s never spoken a word to Kate Marsh in her entire life.

“It’ll be hella awkward.” Chloe claims, putting her hands up in protest. “And I don’t wanna get in the way of your little reunion.”

“You won’t be getting in the way,” Max insists. “Besides, you’re driving me there anyway, you might as well stick around.”

Chloe has never been able to refuse Max, which is why she finds herself at Miro Tea, sitting at a table alone, because Max is in the restroom and Kate and Warren have been “almost there” for ten minutes.

The place is coated with a soothing herbal smell, and Chloe has never been much of a tea drinker but she’s kind of excited to try. Mostly because Max’s excitement has rubbed off on her, but hey, that’s not exactly a bad thing.

“Hi,” a girl with bright red dyed hair says forwardly, standing across the table.

“Hi,” Chloe replies, almost nonchalantly, expecting the girl to ask if she can take one of the chairs or something.

Instead, she asks for her number. Chloe stares at her hoop nose ring for a few seconds, processing what just happened. She’s not that used to _girls_ hitting on her in public places.

“Oh, uh, thanks, but actually, I’m here with my girlfriend.” Chloe explains. She’s a little shocked at how easily the lie comes out, aware that it’s not _totally_ a lie, but it kind of is. She’s unsure of what to call Max. Best friend does not come close to covering it, but the girl she’s bonded to for life, thanks to destiny and fate, sounds a little extreme to tell a stranger. Or anyone.

“Oh, that’s cool,” the girl says, surprisingly unfazed by that.

But she doesn’t leave quite yet, not until Max walks over and Chloe greets her with an enthusiastic, “Hey, babe!”

Max stops walking, just for a second, glancing at the girl and then back at Chloe.

“Hey,” she says, and sits in the chair next to Chloe, and making an effort to scoot it closer to her.

The girl leaves with an “excuse me” and Max chuckles.

“What was that about?” Max asks wryly.

“You tell me, Caulfield. You’re the one who made her leave.”

“Right, my bad.” Max laughs. “Babe,” she adds, mocking her.

Chloe is about to explain the whole thing, but Kate and Warren show up, and Max gets up to hug them. Chloe tries to restrain herself from glaring at Warren, because the poor guy hasn’t done anything wrong, he’s still just obviously interested in Max. And can she, of all people, really hold that against him?

Except, when Max tries to pull herself away and Warren holds on for a few seconds too long, Chloe decides that yes, she can, and shoots daggers at him when he sits in the chair directly across from her.

Chloe lets the three Blackwell students catch up, and spends her energy on drinking the hot lemon tea in her cup. She decides that ultimately, she prefers coffee, but this isn’t that bad.

And Max seems happy, which is the most important thing. She’s looking at Kate the most, because she’s seated across from her, but every now and then she smiles at Chloe, making her feel warm, even though that could just be the tea.

Warren eventually asks Max if they can talk outside, _privately_ , and Chloe makes her best attempt not to snort, surprised that he really hasn’t gotten the hint. Max, after a long pause, complies. Chloe mouths _good luck_ to Max’s dismay, who barely has time to mouth back _you suck_ before she follows Warren.

“You’re not jealous?” Kate asks, once they’re both out of earshot.

Chloe smiles and shakes her head.

“Please. Max and I are destiny. No, _beyond_ destiny. That dudebro’s got nothing on us.” She grins at that, welcoming her own frankness. “Besides, I’m totally going out there in five minutes, and I’ll grab her ass or something.”

Kate Marsh, _Kate Marsh_ , cracks up at that.

“Good plan.” Kate smiles, almost glowing, and it’s really, really nice. She takes a sip of her chamomile, and Chloe watches almost in awe. Rachel might have been her angel, but Kate, Kate is definitely something else.

“I’ve seen you around at Blackwell a lot. You were putting up those Rachel Amber posters.” Kate begins, like she was able to read her mind. Max could fucking rewind time, so it’s not _impossible._

“Yeah, I did.”

“You two were close,” Kate tries, and it’s not a question.

Chloe chugs some of her tea since it’s no longer scalding, and thinks about the cigarettes in her pocket, briefly considering using them as an excuse to get out of this conversation. She’s not ready to talk more about Rachel.

“Chloe,” Kate starts, hesitant, and Chloe braces herself. “Max seems… different, from the last time I saw her. I can’t really explain how.”

“Yeah, she’s uh, she’s been through a lot.”

“I don’t know how to word this,” Kate pauses, furrowing her brow. “But you have this sort of, healing quality about you, and I think Max really needs that right now.”

“Healing quality?” Chloe asks, confused. This is where Chloe nearly calls bullshit: how could anything about her be seen as healing when everything’s so fucking broken?

“That’s right,” Kate speaks with certainty. “I’m truly thankful that you’re here for her.”

Chloe can’t help but smile, even if she doesn’t fully believe it.

“I’m really glad Max has you in her life too, Kate.” Chloe says.

Kate’s eyes crinkle at that, and Chloe confirms that Kate must be a literal angel.

“You two ready to leave?” Max asks, her swift appearance taking both of them by surprise.

“Yeah,” Chloe and Kate answer at the same time, and laugh.

When they step outside the tea shop the sky is a pleasant grey, and the air is still. _It’s going to rain_ , Chloe realizes, with concern for Max. Judging by her smile and jittery hands and excitement for the used book store the four of them are about to venture off to, she hasn’t noticed the weather change. That, or she doesn’t mind. It’s not going to be that big of a storm.  

Two hours later, Chloe is eighty dollars broke after insisting she buy everyone’s books, glad to do it. She thinks of it as a way to return some money back to Blackwell, not that Kate and Warren need to know she paid for their books with stolen money.

Once they’ve all parted ways, Chloe pulls Max in and kisses her forehead.

“I’m glad you made me tag along,” she says, honest.

Max laughs.

“So am I, really.”

“I know.” Chloe flashes a grin. “You ready to get wet?”

“What?” Max asks, taken aback.

“The rain. Jeez, Max. We’ve gotta get back to my car. You ready?”

Max, after a few seconds of staring at her, takes Chloe’s hand, and they stand under the shelter of the building, preparing themselves. They haven’t done their rain routine since Chloe was twelve, but it feels right to do it now.

“Ready,” Max confirms, with a knowing smile.

“One,” Chloe counts.

“Two,” says Max.

“Three!” they say together, splashing onto the street, soaking their shoes instantly. Chloe lets out a high pitched screech of delight- it’s fucking _cold_ but Max’s hand is warm and that is what she’s focused on. It’s hard to protect their books in their bags and run while holding hands at the same time, but they eventually do make it to her truck.

“Turn the heat on!” Max says, shivering.

“On it!” Chloe answers through chattering teeth.

For a brief instant, one beautiful, fluttering moment, it’s like Max never left. It’s like the storm never came. They’re both breathing and shaking and laughing and Max is laughing harder than Chloe can ever remember. It’s a chiming sound, and Chloe loves it.

It’s as if they’ve never been apart- no moving or time travel or any of it. As if they’ve spent these last five years together, always. And if that were true, if none of it happened, maybe, Chloe realizes, she'd be kissing her right now; soft and meaningful, savoring the warmth of her mouth.

But for now, just looking at Max is enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I don't really know what to say here, but thanks for reading! Any feedback is appreciated.  
> Feel free to talk to me about Life is Strange- my tumblr is @moonriselesbian, it's been barely over a month now but i'm still a wreck after that finale. This fic is kind of my optimistic way of dealing with it.


	3. It Was Only Ever Us

Friday

Chloe is sitting inside her truck in the parking lot of Max’s high school, idly tapping her fingers against the wheel, waiting for Max’s last class to get out. She’s done this every day this week; it’s not something she minds, it’s not even something Max had asked her to do. But after Max’s breakdown on her first day back, crying alone in a stall in the girls’ bathroom, Chloe decided it would be best if she drove Max to and from school. It’s the least she could do for her.

She doesn’t tell Max that she used to be Rachel’s ride to and from Blackwell, even after she got booted. In retrospect, her life was so much simpler then, with only California and Rachel on her mind. And here she is now, at a nice high school in Seattle, dying to violate the campus’s no smoking policy, trying to count how many times she and Rachel would go to their hangout after school and get high.

And she tries not to think about how maybe Rachel didn’t love her back the same way that she did, but it doesn’t change anything because she’s gone, and there’s nothing she can do to fix it. There’s no real way she can say goodbye. Not even Max, who held eternity in her hands, was able to bring her back.

Chloe tries imagining what Rachel would say about Max. It’s something she does often, Rachel being the one person she could actually talk to after Max left. It’s strange to imagine Rachel sitting shotgun next to her, even though it used to be her spot, and it’s stranger trying to imagine talking to Rachel about all of this.

She’d understand, wouldn’t she?

Chloe’s certain that she would, that Rachel would probably find the whole thing kind of funny, she always had a way of doing that.

“ _You’ve just gotta go for it, Chloe_ ,” she can imagine Rachel saying in that sweet as honey voice of hers. “ _But that girl needs time, and so do you_.”

Chloe sighs, and rolls her driver’s window down, for some air, contemplating smoking again. She looks out, and sees three students exiting the school’s main building, then five more, then twenty, she guesses, until there are dozens of students everywhere. A lot of them have fun colored dyed hair, vibrant reds and purples and pinks. Chloe thinks she’d fit in here better than Blackwell.

There’s a tap on the passenger door, surprising Chloe, since she didn’t see the girl walk over.

“Hey!” Chloe says, unlocking her car and smiling at Max. She’s wearing the same light maroon hoodie she wore that morning. The hoodie actually belongs to Chloe, she bought it when Vanessa took them out shopping last week, but Max looks amazing in it so she isn’t going to complain.

“So,how was your first week?” Chloe asks, making her best attempt to sound positive.

“Well, it’s high school, so it still sucks,” Max answers, weakly tossing her backpack to the back of Chloe’s truck, slumping into the passenger seat.

“That’s true, but hey, it’s your senior year, that’s not too bad.”

“Says the girl who got expelled,” Max says, buckling her seatbelt.

“Thinking about following my lead?” She’s joking, or at least, she thinks it’s obviously a joke, but Max is quiet. Chloe starts backing up, slowly, because there are students walking everywhere, taking their sweet time to walk behind her truck.

“The only class with photography is journalism,” Max begins, twenty seconds later, after Chloe has finally gotten out of her parking spot. “Which is definitely not something I want to do. Maybe it’ll be a good thing to take a break from taking pictures all the time.”

Chloe thinks about that, stopping a little too harshly in the line for the exit, when she realizes Max’s implications.

“Wait, do you mean, not even for fun?”

“Yeah, for now,” Max says, with a small voice.

The hurt in her voice jars Chloe, she knows that being a photographer was always something Max wanted to be. Even when they were kids, it was all Max could talk about, which is why Chloe is still so familiar with camera terminology. It’s not exactly something Chloe thought would ever come in handy. Not until she started taking classes at Blackwell, and she’d longingly reminisce over the days she and Max would go exploring. She actually met Rachel in one of those basic photography courses.

“Maybe a break will be a good thing,” Chloe says, trying to sound optimistic. It’s one of Max’s bad days, she can tell, and she’s had a lot of bad days this week. Chloe doesn’t think she should have gone back to school so soon, but Max had insisted she’s ready. Even now, without the rewind, she pushes herself too hard.

Max is facing the window, not replying, and Chloe is terrified of the idea that it hurts for Max to look at her, like she’s just another reminder of all those lives that were lost. On Tuesday, she caught Max looking at an updated list of names, and Chloe tried to tell her not to, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking either. She winced at the names she knew- Justin, Trevor, even Victoria was on there. Max didn’t talk for the rest of the night.

And she can’t stand that, can’t stand the idea that maybe Max would be better off if she had died. She can’t even talk to her about it, because Max would deny it, refusing Chloe to take any of the blame. How could she not? If she hadn’t gone out and fucking _died_ , none of this would have happened.

Chloe takes a detour to Max’s house, through the neighborhood, because she dreads going back to the Caulfield’s house right now. Max’s room shrinks every time she steps into it, and she’s not sure she can handle Max’s inevitable silence.

Max doesn’t comment on the different road Chloe’s driving on, but Chloe knows it’s possible she hasn’t noticed. There are a lot of things she misses, because she’s either lost in thought or just doesn’t care.

Chloe spots an elementary school with a mostly vacant parking lot, deciding that this will be a nice change of pace.

“Score!” she exclaims, parking her truck and taking up two parking spots with it.

“What are you doing?” Max asks, turning around to look at her, head tilted in confusion.

“I haven’t gone skating since before we left Arcadia Bay. And it’s Friday, school’s out, and I happen to have my skateboard with me. So, is it cool if we chill here for a bit?”

“Sure,” Max says, smiling softly. “I’d love to watch you skate, Chloe.”

“Great.” Chloe grins at her, ecstatic to see Max looking genuinely excited about something.

And skating for the first time since before she even ran into Max, feels natural, freeing. With her left foot towards the front of the board and her right foot kicking off the ground, she’s thrilled to be rolling around. She didn’t know how much she had missed that tingly sensation of vibrations under her feet till now, looping around the circular parking lot she is learning to become familiar with.

She doesn’t do tricks, not yet, right now it’s all about the ride. A space for herself. Across the lot, Max is sitting on the curb in front of the school’s entrance, watching her. Chloe is comforted by this, for whatever reason, and picks up speed as she starts moving downhill, making a loop past Max, going in a circle again. And again.

Eventually, Chloe loses count of how many times she’s circled the parking lot, not getting off her skateboard once. But she keeps moving, anxious about breaking her new routine, anxious about talking to Max, about facing the truth of it all.

A few hundred feet away from Max, she sticks her right arm out to give her a thumbs up. It’s something they used to do, back when they were still in elementary school, to let them know that the other was okay.

Back then, it was usually for minor injuries, like the time when Max tumbled out of a slide head first, or when she fell off the monkey bars, spraining her wrist. They had other codes too, but looking back now, Chloe can’t remember any of them. She pulls in her arm in a little, waiting for Max to return the gesture.

She doesn’t, and it’s either because she’s too far away, or unsure of what she’s doing. Or, Chloe thinks, with a sharp pang in her chest, because she knows perfectly well what Chloe’s thumbs up means, and isn’t responding because, well, she isn’t okay. Chloe puts her arm down to her side, and follows the road downhill, to Max.

“You didn’t give me a thumbs up back,” she says, stepping off the board and picking it up from the ground.

“Oh,” she says, in a daze, not looking up at her. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Max. Not for anything.”

“Don’t say that,” Max says, looking down at the road, decidedly focused on some rocks on the ground to rearrange.

“I mean it,” Chloe says, sitting to the right of her.

“So do I.”

And Chloe isn’t going to argue with her, so she stays silent, watching the sky. It’s getting darker, and they don’t have a good view of the sunset. Not like it really matters, Max isn’t paying attention to any of it anyway.

Max moves her hand, and by instinct, Chloe reaches for it. Max stills, before entwining their fingers, and Chloe realizes that Max was probably going to move the rocks she’s been messing with.

“Um,” she begins, with a lack of confidence.

“It’s fine,” Max says, with a hint of a smile on her lips. She squeezes her hand. Max looks up, briefly. “It’s getting dark,” she notes, a little sadly. “I wanna try to skate before we leave.”

“Yeah?” Chloe asks.

“Yeah. I haven’t done it since I was eight but, I want to try.”

Chloe beams. “Let’s do it then.”

They stand up at the same time, hand in hand, and they walk to Chloe’s skateboard.

“Will you keep holding my hand, so I don’t fall?”

Chloe nearly laughs, because she’s sure Max won’t fall, and she’s sure Max knows that but, hey, if Max wants to hold her hand, why would she try to stop that?

“Sure,” Chloe says. “Okay, so go ahead and put your left foot on the front of the board, yeah, like that, and-” she laughs. “Go ahead and put your right foot on, and I’ll pull you.”

Cautiously, Max places her right foot on the board, wobbling a bit. Instinctively, Chloe puts her free hand on her back to steady her.

“You good?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’m gonna start pulling you now.” She removes her hand from her back and starts walking forward. And it feels right, Max on her board, the two of them together, under the soft glow of the streetlights that are turning on. Being late October it’s chilly, but Chloe’s used to it.

“I think,” Max says, doubtfully, “that I want you to let go.”

“Alright, Mad Max, let’s see what a pro-skater you’ve turned out to be.”

She lets go of her hand and Max is moving, actually moving, kind of quickly. For a good three minutes, Max is doing fine, until she stumbles off. Max lands on her feet, and jumps right back on.

Chloe claps loudly, making a grand effort to cheer her on. She could watch Max skate forever, she thinks, watching the girl roll around, carrying herself in a surprisingly graceful manner. And Max is beautiful, like she always is, underneath the night sky. The moon’s not out, but Chloe’s had enough of the moon after seeing two moons in the sky, she’s had it with all that cosmic bullshit.

Max skates around for another five minutes before returning to her, smile gone, serious.

“I never wanted to make the world bow, Chloe,” Max says, stepping off the skateboard, holding it in place with her right foot. “I just wanted to be with you.”

Chloe takes a step towards her, and then another, without saying anything.

“I would do it all again, Chloe. I’d rewrite the entire universe just to be here.” Max pauses, thoughtful, eyes looking beyond reality. “Or, if I really was a god, like you said, I would have created our own little world, just for us.”

“Max-”

“I know I can’t, but that’s okay. You’re with me, Chloe, and it’s more than I could ever ask for.”

Max is staring up at her like there are stars in her eyes. Maybe there are.

And Chloe leans down to kiss her. It’s a soft kiss, a question. And Max kisses her back, deeply, inviting her in. It’s slow, but sweet, filled with longing. Chloe reaches for her waist, tenderly, pulling her closer, and Max softly places her hands on her cheeks, almost desperate.

Too soon, Max pulls away to look at her, to really look at her, and smiles that sad smile of hers, only it’s different now. Because Max is really starting to believe in herself, in them, and there’s nothing the universe can do about it anymore. Max wraps her arms around her neck, her warm breath making Chloe shiver.

“I wanted you to know,” Chloe whispers. “In case I never told you in any of the other realities.”

“I know, Chloe,” Max whispers back, pulling her closer. She laughs, a little hollow. “Not just because of the alternate realities,” she clarifies. “Promise.”

Chloe laughs, next to her ear.

“In one of them,” Max begins, backing away slightly, hands touching her neck, her cheeks, her hair, as much of Chloe as she can. “You asked me how we’d get over shit like this.” She exhales slowly. “And I told you that we live, just live, and be there for each other.” She smiles. “I think I’m ready to take my own advice, Chloe.”

Max kisses her softly, lips lingering, before saying, “I nearly didn’t kiss you when you dared me.”

“Y-you what?” Chloe stammers, a little nervous.

Max laughs to herself.

“I didn’t like that you dared me,” she explains, waving her hand in front of her face. “But I wanted to kiss you, so I went for it.”

“Sorry,” Chloe says sheepishly. “I didn’t think you would.”

“No, shit.” Max laughs again.

“This is it, right?” Chloe asks, a little curious about how amazing this feels. “Like, we never…in the other realities…”

“No. We uh, we were always in that limbo, between friends and more than friends,” Max says, fondly. “That was probably the one common factor.” She takes both of Chloe’s hands off her waist, so she can hold them. “Do you think this is too fast?”

“What? Us?”

Max’s soft, pale blue eyes are looking into hers, distracting her from answering Max’s initial question right away, taking her time to memorize her expression. This close to her, Chloe notices more of her freckles, the curve of her nose, how pink her lips are.

“No, I don’t. As long as we take things slow, you know? I mean, I am fucking living with you right now. Unless you want to just U-haul it, but it’s your parents’ house, so that could get weird.”

Max wrinkles her nose.

“So,” Chloe continues, kissing Max’s forehead, and then her lips, because she can. “I’ll get my own place here soon, in a couple of months. And then,” she grins, looking down at Max affectionately, “we’ll be _girlfriend_ girlfriends. And dude, I’ll even take you to Prom, we can go dress shopping together and everything.”

Max shakes her head, worrying Chloe for a couple of seconds.

“I want to wear a tux to Prom,” she says, a little shy.

“You’re serious? Wow, you are going to be so fucking hot,” Chloe speaks at ease, able to picture it perfectly.

Max grins, relieved.

“What else do you have in mind for us?” Max asks, playful.

“Well,” Chloe starts, feeling daring. “You said you wouldn’t marry me in Oregon since it’s illegal. But, we just so happen to live in a state where gay marriage is legal, just saying.”

“Right,” Max says. “No pressure or anything.”

Chloe shrugs.

“Just saying,” she repeats, trying to hold back a smirk. “Think we should go back now? It’s getting a little late.”

“Since when has that stopped you?” Max jokes. “But yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

Chloe takes the skateboard and wraps her arm around Max’s shoulder, Max’s arm finding its way around her waist instantly. It’s something that always felt natural, it makes Chloe feel safe.

“I love you, Max,” she says, confident and warm. “I always have.”

“Chloe-” Max falters. “I love you too.”

“You’d better,” Chloe says, almost giggling.

During the ride home, all of the tension from earlier is gone, like it was never there in the first place. Chloe drives back holding Max’s hand, and Max is still quiet, but she’s smiling, sneaking glances at Chloe. In Max’s driveway, underneath trees and stars in the middle of Seattle Suburbia, they kiss again, gentle and warm and new. And for once, Chloe feels like she belongs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back in early October, before Episode 5 came out, I had this really great idea about Max and Chloe skateboarding with Justin and Trevor and even Dana, a couple weeks after the storm. I wrote the basic idea down, excited to write another really sappy fic, like, this fic was gonna be the sappiest thing ever.  
> I wanted to wait till after the last episode came out to see how it would go down, and didn't think that Bae or Bay would actually be the final choice. I know I could have written that fic anyway, but it didn't feel right when I tried, I didn't want to ignore everything that happened.  
> But overall, the key part of that idea is here, Max and Chloe skateboarding and loving each other, so, I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks for reading, and seriously thank you all for your feedback, it's meant a lot to me.  
> The next (and probably final) chapter might not be posted as soon as I'd like since I've got finals, but I'll do what I can!


	4. I Drank the Water and I Felt Alright

Two Years Later

There are a few things that Max Caulfield is certain of.

The first is that she made the right choice when she chose Chloe over Arcadia Bay. It’s not something she’s ever doubted.

The second is that legally changing her name from Maxine to Max was the best paperwork she’s ever had to fill out.

The third is that when she asks Chloe to marry her, Chloe will say yes.

It’s not something she had planned on doing any time soon, considering that she’s barely twenty and a college student. But on a late Saturday afternoon, after a tea date with Kate, she walks by a jewelry store. She’s walked this route before, admired the necklaces on display in the window before, but today, her eye catches something glittering, and she stops walking.

She sucks her breath in, because she can _see_ it: she’s down on one knee, and there’s Chloe, surprised but not really, smiling that knowing smile, with her pale blue eyes shiny and wet.

Max knows she has to do it.

She enters the store, which is filled with sparkling light from all the jewelry she doesn’t even want to know the prices of, aware she can’t afford them. The store has a nice, clean, lavender smell, and there’s some classical piano music playing. The place is, by all definitions _classy_ , and immediately, she feels underdressed in her loose grey cardigan and black skinny jeans. The store owner, an elderly woman wearing a dark purple sweater and a long black skirt, doesn’t give her a second glance, which Max is thankful for.

Max slowly walks over to the window display, searching for the ring that caught her eye. She almost laughs to herself- she doesn’t feel adult enough to be shopping for an engagement ring. Sure, she and Chloe live together now and they’ve had some time to heal, but this is a new realm of maturity. _Then again_ , she thinks, _what’s the use in waiting?_

“Are you looking for anything particular?” the woman asks her.

“Uh, yes actually, an engagement ring?” Max practically squeaks. As soon as she says it, she realizes how silly she must sound.

“Ah,” the woman says, not unkindly. “You’re one of the untraditional ones.” She smiles.

“Yeah, it’s for my girlfriend,” Max says, making a vain attempt to keep her voice steady. She’s already decided that if this place is homophobic, it’s not worth her business. She doesn’t have to actually buy the ring today anyway.

“Even better.” The woman laughs, and Max exhales, relieved. “I’m Claire,” Claire says, offering to shake her hand.

“Max,” she answers calmly, shaking her hand.

“Well, Max, how can I help?”

“When I was walking by, I saw a ring through the window. Diamond, uh, I think. With a hint of blue?”

“Hmm, let me see here,” Claire says, adjusting the display case.

And Claire is probably the best person in the world to help. Not once does she comment on how young Max is, or asks if she’s sure she’s ready for this. Once Claire finds the ring, Max knows it’s the perfect one for Chloe. One of the perks of falling in love with her childhood best friend, Max realizes, is that she remembers the rare daydream weddings and magazine browsing. And if those taught her anything, it’s that Chloe Price is going to _melt_ when she sees this thing.

Despite the “funds” Max and Chloe had ended up splitting, it’ll take Max over a year to pay for the rest of the monthly payments, but she knows it’s worth it. The ring is absolutely perfect: small but beautiful and splashed with a blue that matches Chloe’s eyes.   

Max leaves the shop smiling, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she went ahead and bought a ring for Chloe. The secret makes her feel giddy, bubbling up inside her. It’s reminiscent of all the times she bought Chloe a really great birthday present when they were kids and refused to tell her what it was- no matter how much Chloe had begged.

Content with walking in the cool, crisp, fall air, Max feels light as the sky. Maybe she’ll propose in two years, maybe even in a few weeks. For Max Caulfield, retired Time Warrior, time doesn’t really matter anymore. As long as Chloe is with her, things are right in the world.

“Hey, I’m home!” Max calls in, entering the hallway of their apartment, tucking the ring safely in her pocket, trying to think of a good place to hide it. “I went ahead and picked up dinner,” she adds, holding Chinese take-out in her left hand.

“Sweet!” Chloe says, from the kitchen table, covered in sunlight, sketching something. She’s wearing a tank top with no bra, and skinny jeans. The blue in her hair is all but gone now, not even two inches left on the ends. The blonde suits her, her hair longer, not as long as it was when they were younger, but it almost touches her shoulders.

Chloe smiles up at her with such softness that it makes Max want to marry her on the spot.

Max returns the smile and leans down to kiss her.

“You owe me one,” Max jokes.

“You’re in a good mood,” Chloe points out, grinning.

“So are you,” Max says fondly, setting the food on the table. “What are you drawing?”

“Just some doodles, why?”

“Well, I may have been reconsidering the whole matching tattoo thing.”

Chloe’s pencil falls out of her hand, and her smile is brighter than a thousand birthday smiles.

“You’re serious? You want to?”

“Yeah,” Max grins, confident. She’d always thought that couples getting matching tattoos was a bad idea, but if she gets a matching one with Chloe, it means that Chloe is alive and still getting her skin inked. The tattoo will serve as a reminder, and it’s not something she’d mind sharing with Chloe. Plus, well, Max always thought tattoos were kind of hot.  

“Okay, sit down, Max,” Chloe says, as she gets out of her own chair. “I’m gonna go grab some of my sketchbooks- I have a shit ton of good ideas.”

Max laughs as Chloe bounces towards their bedroom.

“Can’t you wait till after dinner?” she calls after her.

“This is more important!” Chloe calls back.

Max shakes her head but she still laughs, eager to see what ideas Chloe has already come up with.

Two hours later, Max is resting her head against Chloe’s bare chest, curved against her side, eyes closed and content. She listens to each breath Chloe makes, letting her know that Chloe is here and that she’s okay. And then she feels it- a small floaty feeling, something secure and tangible. An echo of what she’s felt before- curled up under blankets with hot cocoa on Chloe’s couch when they were kids, the way Chloe looked at her the night they snuck into Blackwell’s pool. It’s warm.

She’s pretty sure Chloe is asleep, until Chloe says something.

“Thanks for saving me.” Her voice is so unusually quiet that Max can barely hear her.

“What?” Max asks.

“I don’t think I ever really said it, before, so I’m saying it now.”

“Oh,” Max says, surprised, opening her eyes. Her body stills, the way it always does when they talk about that week. “Chloe, you don’t have to thank me for that.” Max sits up.

Chloe sits up too.

“I want to, though. I mean, out of all the other timelines you’ve lived through, you chose to stay in this one,” Chloe pauses, shyly averting her eyes. “With me.”

Max wants to tell her that of course she did, that it wasn’t even a choice, because a life without Chloe is not something she can even think about. She reflects back to what she promised William once, about how she would always be there for Chloe.

She meant it.

“You’re welcome,” Max says, with a slight laugh. “I’m just so glad you’re here. I know I’ve said that before, but I mean it. Where would I be without my partner in crime?”

Chloe’s lips part, as if to ask something, but no words come out. Instead, Chloe kisses her, a slow, lazy kiss, warm and wet.

“Sap,” Max says affectionately, after they part.

“Whatever, you love me.”

Max rolls her eyes.

“What gave that away?”

Chloe shrugs, and then flashes a grin.

“Let’s go do something.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now, get that ass out of bed.”

“You’re gonna have to get dressed you know,” Max points out wryly.

Chloe looks down at her chest, before glancing at Max’s.

“We could go get your nipples pierced!” Chloe suggests, excited.

“Chloe, you’re lucky I’m on board for the tattoo, I don’t think I want to get painful, matching piercings too.”

“Too bad,” Chloe says, getting out of bed and searching for her clothes. “It’d be hot.”

“Tempting,” Max jokes. “But no.”

Max takes one of Chloe’s black shirts and throws a new, untorn, red flannel over it. She wears the same jeans as earlier, and decides to keep the ring in her pocket because who knows, if she’s feeling spontaneous and brave enough, it might come in handy tonight.

“Where should we go?” Chloe asks her, leaning on their bedroom door, with that faint glint in her eyes, saying that she’s ready for trouble.

Max grabs her camera from her nightstand to take a picture of Chloe before she gives her an answer. She smiles.

“Let’s just drive.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere, everywhere.”

Chloe grins at her.

This isn’t the first time they’ve gone driving with no set destination in Chloe’s truck, which surprisingly, hasn’t fallen apart yet. For Max, the motion of being on the road with Chloe is a place that feels like home for her.

In the beginning, it’s what they would do when Max would wake up screaming from nightmares, of Chloe dying, of another version of herself telling her she made the wrong choice, of Jefferson chasing her, yelling at her, over and over. With neither of them being able to go back to sleep, Chloe suggested they go for a drive, and they both stayed quiet.

Once, Max broke that silence and told Chloe that she felt like a ghost, lost in between realities, unable to find the right one. That her mind wanders, through the past and the present and other universes. That sometimes, she’s not even sure if she’s alive. Chloe told her that she understood what she meant, and that if they were ghosts, at least they had each other.

Max didn’t tell her that sometimes it got so bad she wondered if they were both dead. But Chloe’s lavender roots started to grow out, and her blonde hair started to show. And Max promised herself that she would never take living for granted again.

But tonight, Max isn’t lost in that ethereal space- she’s here with Chloe, glowing under Portland's lights and stars they can’t see. She’s awake, and safe, and Jefferson can’t touch her, can’t touch either one of them.

And this time, it’s Chloe who breaks the silence, speaking over her personalized “Night Vibes” CD.

“I’m really excited about getting a tattoo with you.”

“Oh yeah?” Max asks lightly, glancing at her, smiling. She didn’t know how serious Chloe was about the whole idea to begin with.

“Yeah. It feels right, you know?”

“I know.” Max laughs. “We need to finish the final design, though.”

“That’s just a minor detail.”

That gets another laugh from Max.

Chloe looks at her, for a second, and starts giggling, high pitched and wonderful.

Max knows that with this lighting, the picture she's taking won't do Chloe justice, but she takes it anyway, wanting to preserve this moment.

Eventually, it’s only Chloe’s left hand on the wheel because her right hand is entwined with Max’s. The night goes on, but for Max, it feels like forever, in the good way. Like they’re just two kids exploring the city because they can.

And then there's Chloe, unaware of how breathtaking she is while driving, with the golden streetlights shining down on her golden head. There are a few instances where Max considers asking Chloe to pull over, to propose. Like when they drive over an elaborately lit up bridge, where underneath the water is reflecting moonlight. Or when they start to drift away from the city, towards the mountains. 

Once, Chloe says she needs a break from driving, so she parks in a crowded parking lot next to some clubs that hipsters are fond of. Chloe kisses her deeply and roughly and her hands are  _everywhere_ and Max is a little too distracted to even consider pulling the ring out now. When they do part, Max is slightly dizzy and takes her time to admire Chloe and the red in her lips.

"That was some break," Max jokes.

"I think we should go on these drives more often," Chloe says, face flushed and a little breathless.

"I think that's a great idea." 

Max smiles at her, and memorizes the way that Chloe's eyes light up when she tells her she loves her.

Chloe asks her to tell her again.

When they get back to their apartment, the sun is starting to rise, tinting the sky with pink and orange and it’s all so vibrant and alive that Max has a hard time believing she ever took a break from photography. Chloe waits patiently as Max takes several pictures from the parking lot. She hums when Max wraps her arms around her waist, and they slowly walk up the stairs to their place.

“Man, Max, I am so ready to sleep all day,” Chloe says, yawning dramatically once they step into their bedroom.

Max shakes her head as she sets her camera down, reaching for her pocket.

“Can you hold on a second?” she asks softly. “There’s something I want to do first.”

…

Epilogue

It’s hard to focus on what Chloe is saying when the rain is crashing down on them, violent and hard. Then there’s the tornado, a monstrosity that’s really there, larger than it ever was in any of her dreams. It grew, Max realizes, probably because she altered destiny again.

Chloe is standing next to her alive, and she’s crying; softly, bravely. When Max realizes what Chloe is asking her to do, she doesn’t believe what she’s hearing.

“Fuck that,” she says automatically. “No way, I won’t trade you.” Max means it, nothing is worth losing Chloe.

Chloe says she wouldn’t be trading her, that she would be fixing things. But that’s not how Max sees it. Chloe isn’t the one who’s had to make bargains with time.  

And maybe it’s not the _right_ thing to do, but Max Caulfield has had enough with the rules. She was given a power and she used it for good- for the most part. If the universe wants Chloe to die, it shouldn’t have let her rewind time in the first place.

 _I’ve seen what the world is like without you, and it’s not a life worth living,_ Max nearly tells her. Maybe if she were brave enough, she would. All she can do is stare at Chloe, and that’s when it hits her- Chloe doesn’t think she’ll choose her. And the worst thing is, she understands why. Because in the past, she left Chloe behind, and abandonment is all she’s ever known.

The thought breaks Max. It makes her want to sob, to hold her, to kiss every inch of her. To tell her that she loves her, that even if it was the entire world, not just Arcadia Bay, she’d make the same choice. Because Chloe Price deserves a chance, even if it’s just one more day. Even if she breaks the space-time continuum to do it. Why else was she given her rewind power, if not save the girl who lives in blue?

“It’s time, Max,” Chloe says, voice wavering.

And Max doesn’t waste a second to rip the picture, she’s had enough- enough of rewinding and enough of Chloe dying and all of it.

“Not anymore,” she says, only she’s not talking to Chloe, not really. She’s talking to God, or the universe, or _whatever_ the fuck did this to her.  

As the torn pieces of her butterfly photo leave her hand, she feels lighter, like maybe her rewind has left her.

She watches the tornado move closer to the town, turbulent and whirling around. Seeing it this close, she starts to fully understand that this is _hers_ , the storm is hers, that infinity was hers but no longer. But more importantly, she’s made her destiny her own.

“Max, I’ll always be with you,” Chloe says gently.

“Forever,” Max promises.

Chloe’s hand slides into hers, and Max can breathe evenly, comforted that Chloe is with her, alive.

When Max can’t watch the damage anymore, she turns to Chloe, shaking her head, terrified at what her powers have done, exhausted, and Chloe pulls her in, unwilling to let go.

 _I love you,_ she thinks, as she moves her mouth to say it. Only, she won’t say it, because when Max opens her eyes to look at her, Chloe is still watching the storm, eyes wide and scared. But she feels it, love, and it's soft and it's real. Like Chloe. 

Max doesn't really know what she thinks about fate.

But Chloe is with her.

And that has to be destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading and i've really appreciated your feedback and support <3  
> i know that a lot of you really liked that the previous chapters were in chloe's pov, but i felt i should wrap it up in max's, so i hope that was okay.  
> anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this! i have some upcoming pricefield fics to post in the (hopefully) near future so that's something.   
> also feel free to talk to me on tumblr (@actualgaymergirl) bc i am always down to talk about max and chloe.

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback is appreciated, I'm pretty anxious about getting Max and Chloe characterized correctly. And though it's been fun, it's been a bit of a challenge writing from Chloe's point of view haha.  
> Anyway, I'm really excited to work on this fic, expect more soon!  
> Thank you for reading!  
> (Also, the title for this chapter is totally not from a Ke$ha song haha.)


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